The Bad Words

Just because I haven't posted anything in the last few days doesn't mean I haven't been studying.  Quite the contrary!  I received a belated prize from J earlier last week for completion of the previous week's study goals: new earbuds, as my $5 Hello Kitty ones from Target were on the fritz.  And Sunday I received last week's prize: a package of Twizzlers, which is now almost gone.  A little disgusting, since it's only Tuesday.

"Consecutive Lesson 12: Murder Witness" sounds more exciting than it is, for the most part.  Things like how many drinks were consumed and where illumination of the living room was coming from; stuff like that.  HOWEVER! at the end, the witness repeats some statements she recalls hearing from the defendant.  And I learned some new ways to say some words that I probably otherwise won't get a chance to use.

• Buey (in the context of cheating on your spouse) should just be translated as "ox."  It doesn't have much punch; however, according to Acebo, it's best just to translate it for what it is and be ready to inform anyone who cares that this is a reference to cuckoldry.  And yes, I also had to look up "cuckoldry"; I am familiar with the term, but I didn't have a clue what word we use these days in place of this antiquated, flowery word.  Turns out all we say is "cheat" or "be unfaithful."  Sort of flat.  What I'd like to do is incorporate some more modern form of the word "cuckold" into the English translation of buey in order to capture the deceit aspect of, well, "ox."  Still drawing a blank.
• Puta is a tricky word, because - as is the case for so many Spanish words - you can translate it all sorts of ways.  It can mean anything from "bitch" to "whore" to "working girl" to "prostitute" to "M-F-er," to (as an adjective) "F-ing," "bloody," "appalling," or (sarcastically) "just great."  Well, a lot depends on context.
• "Streetwalker" - in English - means "prostitute."  Somewhere I missed that lesson.  And, in Spanish, the best way to say "streetwalker" in Spanish is callejera, which is a word I commonly used to describe my sister.  She liked to be out and about, at parties, with friends, and not nesting at home much.  Unfortunately, callejera must be recycled to mean "stray," "wanderer," and "out and about."  I often hear males describe themselves as callejeros, but I don't think I've ever heard women use that word to describe their social preferences.  Perhaps it's another one of those words that only the men can use without a sexual connotation (e.g. hombre de negocios).  So unfair.
• There are so many more, but last one for tonight: Eres mas puta que una gallina.  Literally, "you're more of a whore than a chicken [or, more specifically, a hen]."  Are chickens whores?  I have never thought of chickens' sexual behavior; it's an unsettling topic, because the only sex I ever saw chickens engage in was growing up, when I would see the mean rooster jump the timid hen, and, well, that was that.  Would I notice if a hen was slutty or acted with come-on mannerisms?  Was the timid hen actually a slut and I didn't know it?  What did the other hens think about or do?  Did they wish they were the timid ones getting jumped?  Do most people - or Hispanics, at least - think of chickens as highly sexual animals?  We have that thought about, say, rabbits, but that's because of their high litter yield.  I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to understand how the sexual tendencies of a chicken brought about this phrase.  This is where having a non-embarrassable Hispanic girlfriend would come in handy.